


Fanfiction: An Economic Review

by centreoftheselights



Category: No Fandom
Genre: AO3 Statistics, Alternate Universe - Career, Archive of our Own - Freeform, Archived From Tumblr, Archived From centrumlumina Tumblr, Fandom Commentary, Fandom Statistics, Gen, Graphs and charts, Meta, Meta Essay, Nonfiction, Research
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2020-01-24 13:36:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18572563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/centreoftheselights/pseuds/centreoftheselights
Summary: A tongue-in-cheek review of the economic structure of the world of fanfic, based on the popularity of various AU tags on AO3.





	Fanfiction: An Economic Review

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted 17th March 2018.

> _The nation of Fanfiction has a unique economic footprint. As areas of employment, agriculture and manufacture are nearly non-existent, suggesting that even processed goods are readily available in the natural environment. This resource generation seems linked to the placement of naturally occurring dwellings, as little construction exists, and transport jobs are minimal. With so much readily available, social progress is a low priority; computing, engineering and science are all far less active than the rates seen in America, and law and social work are similarly diminished.  
> _
> 
> _The prosperity of the environment creates a surplus of leisure time, which many fill with additional education and training. Nearly a third of the population are employed in colleges as professors or full-time academics, while another quarter work as high-school teachers. Entertainment and the arts are prospering, and food retailers - predominantly small, locally owned artisanal coffeeshops - are commonplace. Non-food retail is largely focussed on luxuries such as flowers, books and pets. However, crime rates have risen in line with increased leisure; while criminal activities are not directly measured in this survey, law enforcement employs around 2.5 times as many people per head of the population as the police force in the United States._

Inspired by [this post](http://centrumlumina.tumblr.com/post/171940838310/centrumlumina-anextrapart-matzoballer), I completed a survey of AO3 tags, measuring all non-fandom-specific AU tags that implied the existence of real, modern, legal jobs.

[Click here to view the source data used for this project](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nKtwOBpWi1hyW17hPi2m5fDfxwUvPLfCRL56hbw-4sw/edit?usp=sharing).

[Image: Two pie charts showing the size of different economic sectors in both Fanfic and the US. Data is as follows:

**Sector - Fanfic - US**  
Education - 61.4% - 6.0%  
Arts & Entertainment - 14.5% - 1.8%  
Food Services - 10.0% - 8.5%  
Law Enforcement - 5.6% - 2.2%  
Retail - 2.5% - 10.1%  
Office Work - 2.1% - 26.1%  
Healthcare - 1.7% - 8.4%  
Personal Services - 1.0% - 4.1%  
Other - 1.1% - 32.8%]

[Image: Two pie charts showing the size of different educational sectors in both Fanfic and the US. Data is as follows:

**Sector - Fanfic - US**  
College - 52.9% - 19.9%  
High School - 40.8% - 11.6%  
Elementary & Middle School - 0.6% - 21.8%  
Preschool & Kindergarten - 0.4% - 6.7%  
Librarians - 0.8% - 2.8%  
Other - 4.5% - 37.2%]

[Image: Two pie charts showing the proportions of different arts & entertainment jobs in both Fanfic and the US. Data is as follows:

**Job - Fanfic - US**  
Musicians - 23.6% - 8.9%  
Athletes & Coaches - 15.9% - 11.1%  
Dancers - 15.4% - 0.7%  
Actors & Filmmakers - 12.8% - 7.2%  
Prostitutes - 8.2% - 0.0%  
Artists - 7.7% - 7.8%  
Writers & Journalists - 2.8% - 27.9%  
Designers - 0.0% - 22.2%  
Other - 21.8% - 14.0%]

[Image: A pie chart showing the proportions of different food service jobs in Fanfic. Data is as follows:

**Job - Proportion**  
Coffee Shops & Cafés - 74.6%  
Bakeries - 9.0%  
Bars & Pubs - 7.1%  
Restaraunts - 4.7%  
Diners - 1.8%  
Pizzerias - 1.5%  
Other - 1.3%]

[Image: A pie chart showing the proportions of different retail locations in Fanfic. Data is as follows:

**Retail Location - Proportion**  
Florist - 44.9%  
Bookstore - 22.0%  
Grocery Store - 6.9%  
Pet Store - 4.0%  
Music Store - 3.8%  
Sex Store - 3.4%  
Convenience Store - 3.3%  
Candy Store - 1.2%  
Other - 10.4%]

[Image: A chart showing the Most Popular Single Careers In Fanfic. The data is as follows:

**Career - Number of Fics (in thousands)**  
College Professors - 49.8  
High School Teachers - 38.4  
Coffee Shop Employees - 11.5  
Musicians & Pop Stars - 5.2  
Athletes & Coaches - 3.6  
Office Workers - 2.5  
Law Enforcement Officers - 2.4  
Actors & Filmmakers - 2.2  
Spies & Secret Agents - 2.0  
Doctors & Nurses - 1.9  
Prostitutes - 1.8  
Exotic Dancers - 1.7  
Florists - 1.7  
Non-Exotic Dancers - 1.7  
Bakers - 1.4  
Detectives - 1.2  
Fashion Designers & Models - 1.2  
Soldiers - 1.2  
Bartenders - 1.1  
Waitstaff - 1.0  
Tattoo Artists - 0.90  
Prison Guards - 0.86  
Bookstore Employees - 0.83  
Camp Cousellors - 0.82  
Artists - 0.81  
Librarians - 0.79  
Porn Stars - 0.67  
Circus Performers - 0.64  
Politicians - 0.62  
Elementary & Middle School Teachers - 0.54  
All Other - 6.7]


End file.
